"The Die Is Cast" is the 67th episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 21st episode of the third season. It is the second half of a two-part episode, concluding the story begun in the previous episode, "Improbable Cause". This episode was first televised in broadcast syndication in May 1995. Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the crew of the space station Deep Space Nine, adjacent to a wormhole connecting the Alpha and Gamma Quadrants of the galaxy. The Gamma Quadrant is home to a hostile empire known as the Dominion, whose Founders are the shapeshifting Changelings. In the previous episode, Deep Space Nine's security chief Odo, a Changeling with no allegiance to the Dominion, discovered a planned surprise attack against the Dominion by the intelligence agencies of two Alpha Quadrant empires, the Romulan Tal Shiar and the Cardassian Obsidian Order. In this episode, the exiled former Obsidian Order agent Garak has to interrogate Odo to prove his loyalty to his former mentor, as the Tal Shiar and Obsidian Order begin their ill-fated attack on the Founders. Plot Garak and Odo have not been heard from on Deep Space Nine in several days, following their departure in a runabout to investigate an attempt on Garak's life. The crew of Deep Space Nine is alarmed when a large Cardassian–Romulan fleet suddenly decloaks and flies through the wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant. The fleet, under the command of Cardassian Enabran Tain and Romulan Colonel Lovok, aims to destroy the homeworld of the Founders of the Dominion. Tain has offered Garak the opportunity to return from exile, and the two reminisce about their past together in the Obsidian Order. Back on DS9, the senior staff view Tain's message laying out the Obsidian Order and the Tal Shiar's plans to cripple the Dominion. Vice Admiral Toddman admits that while the Federation doesn't condone the plan, they don't intend to stop it either and must simply hope they are successful but plan for the worst: he orders DS9 on full alert and the Defiant and its crew to remain at the station for its protection. Commander Sisko, refusing to abandon his crewmate, launches an unsanctioned mission to take the Defiant into the Gamma Quadrant to rescue Odo. Tain instructs Garak to interrogate Odo for information about the Founders, using a device that inhibits his ability to